OBITUARIES

CARL ST JACQUES

Violist Carl St Jacques died on 24 May in Sydney, Australia.His wife Jakila Sun confirmed that his death came three months after a lung cancer diagnosis.

Born in 1980 in Miami, Florida, St Jacques studied with Atar Arad at Indiana University Jacobs School of Music.

During his studies, he worked regularly with regional orchestras including the Evansville Philharmonic, Owensboro Symphony and Orchestra Nashville. He also held positions in the Miami Symphony, Florida Grand Opera, Miami City Ballet and Southwest Florida Symphony.

St Jacques was a laureate of the 1999 and 2002 Sphinx Competitions.

He performed with the Sphinx Virtuosi and Sphinx Symphony Orchestra, and was the recipient of a Sphinx MPower Artist grant, which enabled him to play on a 20th-century viola made by German maker Paul Knorr.

St Jacques performed extensively over the US as a chamber and orchestral musician. He performed at major music festivals such as the Lake Lucerne Music

Festival, Manchester Music Festival and the Miyazaki Festival. As a chamber musician, he performed with the Voices of the People chamber music series in Winter Haven, the Ritz Chamber Players in Jacksonville and the Evergreen Trio.

In 2015 St Jacques moved to Sydney, Australia, where he forged a multifaceted musical career. He performed with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Australian Chamber Orchestra and Bangarra Dance Theatre as well as local groups. Adopting the stage name ‘Carl the Violist’, he wrote Elemental Prayer Suite in versions for solo viola as well as for viola and string orchestra, and incidental music for M’ap Boule and Zodiac Fantasy Suites.

PETER BARBER

New Zealand violist Peter Barber died on 3 June, two weeks before he was due to go back on tour with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra (NZSO). Throughout his career he was known as a trail-blazer, taking part in highly successful tours and ground-breaking initiatives.

As well as serving as a member of the NZSO for 47 years, where he earned the title of assistant sub-principal emeritus, Barber also performed with the NZSO Chamber Orchestra, New Zealand Quartet, the New Zealand Soloists, Nevine Quartet and the Amazon Trio, alongside tutoring at the New Zealand School of Music – Te Kōkī.

In 1982 Barber took part in an exchange programme between the NZSO and Tokyo’s NHK Orchestra. The recipient of the first Japan Foundation Scholarship, he spent four months with the 140-piece orchestra as the sole foreign player. Three years later he studied for a year in Germany under acclaimed violist Rainer Moog and with members of the Amadeus Quartet.

In an interview recorded in 1996, Barber talked about juggling being a musician and a father: ‘The job is very good from a family point of view. It’s something you can share with the children because of the hours, and music’s a much healthier activity than many other professions or occupations, although the kids may get sick of hearing me sawing away for hours at a time.’

In a statement on the orchestra’s website, Barber was praised for being ‘a staunch champion of the NZSO’ with an infectious positivity and enthusiasm that made him ‘a much-loved orchestral member’.